Novo Nordisk to acquire Cardior Pharmaceuticals and strengthenpipeline in cardiovascular disease
March 26, 2024 – Clinical Trials, Drug Discovery, Pharmaceutical – Acquisition, Cardior Pharmaceuticals, Novo Nordisk, cardiovascular
25 March, 2024 — Bagsværd, Denmark, and Hannover, Germany — Novo Nordisk and Cardior
Pharmaceuticals today announced that Novo Nordisk has agreed to acquire Cardior for up to
€1.025bn, including an upfront payment and additional payments if certain development and commercial milestones are achieved.
Cardior is a leader in the discovery and development of therapies that target RNA as a means to
prevent, repair and reverse diseases of the heart. The company’s therapeutic approach targets
distinctive non-coding RNAs as a platform for addressing root causes of cardiac dysfunctions
with an aim to achieve lasting patient impact.
The agreement includes Cardior’s lead compound CDR132L, currently in phase 2 clinical
development for the treatment of heart failure.
The acquisition is an important step forward in Novo Nordisk’s strategy to establish a presence
in cardiovascular disease. Novo Nordisk aims to build a focused, impactful portfolio of therapies
through internal and external innovation to address the significant unmet needs that still exist
within cardiovascular disease, the most common cause of death globally.
“By welcoming Cardior as a part of Novo Nordisk, we will strengthen our pipeline of projects in
cardiovascular disease where we already have ongoing programmes across all phases of clinical
development,” said Martin Holst Lange, executive vice president for Development at Novo
Nordisk. “We have been impressed by the scientific work carried out by the Cardior team,
especially on CDR132L, which has a distinctive mode of action and potential to become a first-inclass therapy designed to halt or partially reverse the course of disease for people living with
heart failure.”
CDR132L is designed to halt and partially reverse cellular pathology by selectively blocking
abnormal levels of the microRNA molecule miR-132, potentially leading to long-lasting
improvement in heart function.
In a phase 1b trial published in the European Heart Journal, CDR132L was reported to be safe
and well-tolerated, and the results suggested cardiac functional improvements in people with
heart failure compared to placebo. CDR132L is currently being investigated in the phase 2 trial
HF-REVERT in 280 people with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) who have
previously suffered a heart attack (myocardial infarction). The first patient was dosed in the HFREVERT trial in July 2022.
Novo Nordisk plans to initiate a second phase 2 trial that will investigate CDR132L in a chronic
heart failure population with cardiac hypertrophy – a condition that causes the walls of the
heart muscle to become thick and stiff, affecting the heart’s ability to pump blood.
“This acquisition is a reflection of CDR132L’s transformative potential as a disease-modifying
therapy for heart failure,” said Claudia Ulbrich MD, CEO and co-founder of Cardior. “Novo
Nordisk is the ideal partner based on its deep clinical and commercial expertise combined with
its resources to accelerate our late-stage development programme, including through larger
registrational studies. We look forward to advancing CDR132L towards market approval.”
The closing of the acquisition is subject to receipt of applicable regulatory approvals and other
customary conditions and is expected to happen in the second quarter of 2024. The transaction will not impact Novo Nordisk’s previously communicated operating profit outlook for 2024 or the ongoing share buy-back programme. Novo Nordisk will fund the acquisition from financial reserves. Centerview Partners LLC is acting as exclusive financial advisor to Cardior. CMS Germany is acting as legal counsel to the sellers of Cardior and Latham & Watkins LLP is acting as legal counsel to Novo Nordisk in the transaction.
About Novo Nordisk
Novo Nordisk is a leading global healthcare company, founded in 1923 and headquartered in Denmark. Our
purpose is to drive change to defeat serious chronic diseases, built upon our heritage in diabetes. We do so by pioneering scientific breakthroughs, expanding access to our medicines, and working to prevent and ultimately cure disease. Novo Nordisk employs about 63,400 people in 80 countries and markets its products in around 170 countries. For more information, visit novonordisk.com.
About Cardior
Cardior Pharmaceuticals is a leading clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company pioneering the discovery and
development of RNA-based therapeutics designed to prevent, repair and reverse diseases of the heart. Cardior’s therapeutic approach uses distinctive non-coding RNAs as an innovative platform for addressing the root causes of cardiac dysfunctions. The company aspires to bring transformative therapeutics and diagnostics to patients and thereby make a lasting impact on the treatment of cardiac diseases worldwide. Visit: cardior.de.
